Latest Michigan Headlines
All the headlines from our Michigan Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Mich. Commissioner Begins Inquiry into Climbing Home Insurance Rates
Jan 21 2004 // Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services (OFIS) Commissioner Linda Watters has launched the first phase of her investigation into rising home and auto rates in Michigan. Watters issued a letter of inquiry to...
Mich. Commissioner Names New Chief of Staff
Jan 6 2004 // The Michigan bureaucrat who oversees the regulation of insurance named a new chief of staff shortly before Christmas. Office of Financial and Insurance Services (OFIS) Commissioner Linda A. Watters named Ken Ross as her...
Michigan Issues Data Call to Examine Rate Disparity in Urban Areas
Dec 3 2003 // Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm and Office of Financial and Insurance Services Commissioner Linda A. Watters said in a statement they will investigate home and auto insurance rates in the state to determine if consumers...
Fiserv Acquires MI-Assistant Software
Nov 5 2003 // Brookfield, Wis.-based insurance software-maker Fiserv Inc. has acquired MI-Assistant Software Inc. — a rating and automation product provider to insurance agents and companies in the Midwest — as part of its plan to...
Mich. Top Court Won’t Hear Benefits Case
Oct 23 2003 // The Michigan Supreme Court refused to review an Appellate Court decision in the case of Sprague v. Farmers that clarifies the cost savings function of the state’s coordination of benefits provision. However, the...
Mich. Gov Drops New WC Appeals Panel Idea
Oct 3 2003 // Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat, dropped a plan to form a new workers’ compensation appeals commission after heated complaints from the state’s business community that the panel would be tilted...
Reorganization Jeopardizes Mich. WC System, Biz Group Says
Sep 24 2003 // The Michigan Retailers Association (MRA) urged state lawmakers to reject an executive order reorganizing departments because it jeopardizes the workers’ compensation system. In testimony presented to the House...
Hartford Names Deputy General Counsel
Sep 19 2003 // The Hartford Financial Services Group announced the appointment of Alan J. Kreczko as senior vice president and deputy general counsel. In this new position, Kreczko will supervise the company’s property &...
Mich. Auto Rates Up 7% This Year
Sep 15 2003 // Auto insurance rates in Michigan have increased an average of 7 percent so far in 2003, according to the Insurance Institute of Michigan (IIM). Nationally, auto insurance costs are expected to rise 8.5 percent this...
Associated Food Dealers of Mich. Say Companies Are Balking at Blackout Claims
Sep 15 2003 // Michael Sarafa, president of the Associated Food Dealers of Michigan, is reportedly calling on Michigan’s Office of Financial and Insurance Services (OFIS) and the State Legislature to look into practices of...
Mich. Cracks Down on Uninsured Motorists
Aug 13 2003 // In an effort to decrease the number of uninsured drivers from the more than 1.1 million motorists without insurance, Gov. Jennifer Granholm will work with Michigan’s Secretary of State to upgrade the state’s...
Mich. DOI Makes Online Licensing Easier
Jul 16 2003 // The Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services (OFIS), which regulates insurance, launched a consolidated ‘Licensing’ section on its web site for its insurance, securities and consumer finance...
6,500 Consumers Complained to Mich. DOI in 2002
Jul 8 2003 // The Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services today released complaint ratios for insurance companies in Michigan—the information is available here. Individual company information is also available by calling...
Mich. Commish Releases Auto Insurance Buyers’ Guide
Jun 13 2003 // Michigan Office of Financial and Insurance Services (OFIS) Commissioner Linda A. Watters today issued the 2003 Buyers’ Guide to Auto Insurance in Michigan. The guide, which is an annual survey of automobile insurance...
13 High-Accident Detroit Intersections Targeted for Improvements
Jun 10 2003 // AAA Michigan, the City of Detroit, Wayne County and Michigan Department of Transportation will share the costs of a joint road improvement project that is designed to bring badly needed safety enhancements to two of...
Markel Teams Up with Water Warriors for Charity
May 30 2003 // Markel American Insurance Company (rated “A X” by A.M. Best) is teaming up with Water Warriors to support Special Olympics. Water Warriors is an organization that operates as a branch of Special Olympics...
Mich. Limits Insurer Exposure Under Standard Fire Policy
May 30 2003 // Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D) has signed into law a bill limiting insurer exposure under the Standard Fire Policy Act. The state follows similar action earlier this year by Virginia, Minnesota and Nebraska, according...
Mich. Legislature Sends Standard Fire Policy Bill to Gov
May 27 2003 // The Michigan Legislature has passed a bill limiting insurer exposure under the Standard Fire Policy Act and sent it to the governor, whose signature is urged, according to the Alliance of American Insurers. Under the bill,...
Accident Fund Names Steve Hess General Counsel
May 20 2003 // Lansing, Mich.-based Accident Fund Insurance Co. of America announced the appointment of Steven C. Hess as executive vice president and general counsel of the company. After 15 years as general counsel of Blue Cross Blue...
New Mich. Commish Appointed
Apr 16 2003 // Michigan Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm, a Democrat, has appointed Linda Watters, president and CEO of Detroit Commerce Bank, as the new commissioner of the Office of Financial and Insurance Services (OFIS). She will begin...
